Sal's Italian Kitchen

I've been here two nights in a row now and I cannot emphasize that while the food is good, the service is really terrible. Yesterday the restaurant was very crowded. The bartender was covering not only the bar, but also bringing drinks to tables, and taking care of the take-out register. But the issue wasn't that he was overwhelmed, but that he wasn't doing a good job with it. With a full bar, he never looks down to see if anyone needs to be served. It is nearly impossible to get his attention. My wife and I place our food and drink order, which he proceeded to forget to enter and which we had to get his attention again for. The people next to us had been waiting over an hour for their entree, and when it arrived it was wrong. In the intervening time, they had asked for more bread, which he forgot to bring. When he served a table their wine, he stayed and chatted with them for a significant period of time while everyone else is waiting. There is a waitress who seems to bring out food to the tables, but there are also three other guys who seem to do little to nothing. But today, the place was not full at all, and it was the same. It was impossible to get his attention, he never came by to clean plates or offer another drink, and he is too busy chatting with friends or regulars or whatever. I'm sure he was blissfully unaware of the guy who sat next to me and while for ten minutes we both tried to get his attention, he eventually muttered "what is this, self service" and eventually gave up and left. It seems like the regulars will keep this place going, but it's really shameful how bad this service is.

I really wanted to love this spot. I've been three times now, and I'm just super disappointed so far. The pastas have all been very bland. The Alfredo for example has a very odd flavor to it I can't pin point. My fiance gets the chicken parm, and says it's not very good or flavorful. The mozzarella sticks, and Caesar salad were decent but not good enough to return for. We go and spend $70 each time to be so upset we tried it again. We really wanted to live it!!

Located in the heart of Cabin John, Sals Italian Kitchen is a neighborhood favorite. Damian Salvatore, who was born and raised in Bethesda, prepares the food. Damian's passion for cooking is evident in every dish he creates.The restaurant has a quaint feel, with high-backed booths and walls covered in paintings of Italy. The servers are friendly and attentive to your needs, but they keep their distance to avoid intruding on your meal.As a bonus, Damian Salvatore can often be seen roaming the dining room, ensuring everything is just right!The prices are reasonable, and the food is delicious. If you're looking for an intimate Italian dining experience in Bethesda, MD then look no further than Sals Italian Kitchen!

Food was great. Easy to call in an order for pick up (and wine store next door) Could do a better job with a spot for pick up orders because they send you all the way to the back where you're contending with food coming out of the kitchen & those waiting for the restroom...

Good mediocre service very mediocre quite epic poor. Charged for things that were not known

On our way home, my parents and I got carry out from Sal's Italian Kitchen in MacArthur Plaza in Cabin John. We had three dinner entrees - Bronzino, Chicken Marsala, and Chicken Piccata. The Bronzino consisted of pan seared bronzino served with sauteed green beans, roasted tomato ragout, and lemon caper butter sauce on the side. I felt like this dish would have tasted better if we had dined in. Among the three entrees, Chicken Marsala was our favorite. It consisted of chicken breast sauteed with mushrooms in a flavorful marsala wine sauce served over penne. The Chicken Piccata was good but felt like the flavors could have been stronger or had more sauce. It consisted of chicken breast sauteed with lemon and capers with a garlicky white wine sauce served over spaghetti.

The food at Sal's is delicious and the value for what you get is terrific. We are lucky to have a restaurant like Sal's in a location where you don't have to deal with congested downtown Bethesda.

Service kinda sucks, very slow & not super friendly (didn't smile). We ordered arancini as an appetizer & one of the centers was cold, the cheese on the inside wasn't melted either. Funny thing is they took at least 15 minutes to come out after ordering & then wasn't even cooked through. Entrees were ok, at least they were heated through. Wild Tomato a few doors down had never disappointed so I'll stick to eating there or Fish Taco.

The food was fantastic - I could eat the roasted cauliflower appetizerevery day! Service was perfect. Atmosphere was lively. We had to lean forwardacross our table for two to hear, but that added to the intimacy.

Ordered our go to take out tonight, chicken piccata, arancini, and cannolis. The chicken and arancini were delicious, but the cannolis were off tonight and we did not eat them. Called Sal's to let them know that something was off with the cannolis and to my surprise they graciously offered to remove them from our bill.